Police arrest Mumbai blasts suspect in Kathmandu

A Nepali man, believed to be in his early 40s, has been arrested from capital city Kathmandu on the suspicion that he had links to this month's serial blasts in Mumbai which killed 24 people and injured nearly 150, Nepal's official media said.

Mohammad Zahir, a resident of Sarlahi district in Nepal's Terai plains near the Indian border, was arrested by Nepal Police's anti-terrorism cell on the basis of intelligence reports, the state-run Gorkhapatra daily reported Tuesday.

The man was said to have been conducting suspicious activities from his rented apartment in Baluwatar, an upmarket area in the capital where the official residence of the Prime Minister is located. He was found to have had phone conversations about the Mumbai blasts as well as sent text messages on his mobile phone, the daily said. It said Zahir was arrested last week but the news was kept secret. Currently, he is in police custody.

There were no immediate comments from police authorities. Three serial blasts rocked Mumbai July 13, causing death and destruction in Zaveri Bazaar, a jewellery hub, the Opera House business district and Dadar.

A terrorist group, the Indian Mujahideen, is suspected to have been behind the attacks. With India and Nepal sharing an open border, Indian authorities have often claimed that several groups planning terror attacks in Indian cities had links in Nepal, either smuggling in firearms and hit men from the Himalayan state or providing logistical support from there.

Mumbai Terror Attack in Pictures

The morning after blasts

Mumbai police officers inspect debris at the Opera House early on Thursday morning.

Home Minister P Chidambaram said the explosive device in Opera house was placed on the road.

A man watches as the body of his relative is put into an ambulance to be taken for last rites in Mumbai on Thursday.

Three coordinated bombings tore through the heart of India's busy financial capital during rush hour on Wednesday.

Indian officials called an emergency security meeting on Thursday to investigate three coordinated bombings that killed 17 people, and injuring hundreds on Wednesday.

People, left, wait outside the morgue of JJ hospital to claim the bodies of their relatives who died in bomb explosions in Mumbai.

Mumbai policemen sit guard behind barricades at Zaveri Bazar, one of the sites of the blasts in Mumbai.

A man carries egg trays near Zaveri bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing in Mumbai, July 14, 2011. Police are looking into "every possible hostile group" in their search for the culprits behind the bombing in the heart of Mumbai.

Visibly tired policemen take a break near Zaveri Bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

People who work at Zaveri Bazar, a site of Thursday's triple bombing, wait for the shops to open in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

A policeman reads a newspaper as others watches near Zaveri Bazar, one of three sites of explosions in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

An unidentified relative signs forms at the morgue to claim the body of his brother who died in one of the three bomb explosions, in Mumbai, July 14, 2011.

A child looks out from a torn plastic sheet to watch police near Zaveri Bazar, one of three sites of explosions in Mumbai, July 14, 2011. 

A man watches as the body of his relative is put into an ambulance to be taken for last rites in Mumbai, July 14, 2011. 

CCTVs reveal vital info about Mumbai serial blasts: Maha C.M.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday said that the security cameras installed around the blast sites in Mumbai have given very crucial information and they are being examined and analysed.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister has also said that the state Home Minister RR Patil informed the Cabinet on the investigations in Wednesday's blast.

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Thursday held a special meeting to discuss the fallout of Wednesday's bomb blasts. The state Cabinet discussed about the medical facilities of the injured. Security post 26/11 was also discussed.

Terror struck Mumbai once again on Wednesday when three bomb blasts rocked some of the most crowded places of the city killing at least 17 people and injuring 131 others.

The first blast took place at 6:54 PM at south Mumbai's crowded Zaveri Bazaar. Within a few minutes Opera House and Dadar, too, were hit by powerful explosions.

Wednesday's blasts took place just two days after the fifth anniversary of the Mumbai serial train blasts on July 11, 2006 in which at least 186 people were killed. The blasts also evoked horrific memories of serial
blasts in the past as both Dadar and Zaveri Bazar have been targeted earlier too.

Mumbai Terror Attack: Hospitals struggle to cope with blast victims

Chaos reigned at various hospitals here with over 80 injured people being rushed for treatment after serial bomb blasts rocked the metropolis this evening. Most of those wounded were taken to JJ, St George, GT, KEM and Harkishandas hospitals as the medical staff scrambled to tackle the sudden
medical emergency.

Several of them were referred from one hospital to another after they failed to secure a place due to large number of victims pouring in from the blast sites at Dadar, Zaveri Bazaar and Opera House.

People queued up at hospitals to verify whether their friends or relatives were among the injured, while some were seen donating blood and helping hospital authorities.

At state-run J J Hospital, 17 injured were admitted of which one died during treatment. At Harkishandas Hospital, 29 persons, injured at the blast at Opera House, were brought, sources said.

"Two bodies were also brought to Harkishandas. Of the 29 injured, six have suffered serious wounds. Some of the victims were moved to Nair and Saifee hospitals for further treatment," Jayant Patil,
Mumbai City's Guardian Minister, told reporters.

At St Georges Hospital, nine persons were admitted of which one is said to be in a serious condition. One of the injured, identified as Lalchand Ahuja (45), later died.

Some of the injured were identified as Pradeep Jano, Ashok Patil, Nikhil Tanka and Sundar Singh, hospital officials said.

"All the injured have suffered severe burns and their body parts have been crushed," Pravin Shingare, Co-Director of St George Hospital, said.

As many as 19 persons were brought to GT Hospital, the sources said, adding that one of them is said to be in a serious condition.

Seven persons from Dadar blast site were being treated at KEM Hospital. Six of them were identified as Shirish Kandalgaonkar, Loria D'Souza, Varsha Thokarsi, Manekshah Vishwakarma, Dhananjay Govindhadhikari and Ganpat Bhovad.

"There are five dead in Saifee Hospital and four in Harkishandas Hospital," Leader of Opposition in State Assembly, Eknath Khadse told reporters outside JJ Hospital.

Helpline Numbers: KEM Hospital: 022-24136051
Nair Hospital: 022-23085379
Harkishandas: 23855555/30095555 Saifee
Hospital: 022-6757 0111.my sansar: Mumbai Terror Attack: Vehicle blasts kill the most in Zaveri Bazaar

Mumbai Terror Attack: Vehicle blasts kill the most in Zaveri Bazaar

Zaveri Bazaar, the city’s densely crowded jewellery market, was bustling with activity at 6.45 pm on  wednesday evening when the first of the blasts that struck Mumbai went off, leaving seven dead and at least 17 others injured.

The bomb was strapped to a Hero Honda motorbike, parked outside the well-known eatery, Mohan Puddlawala.

Within five minutes, around 6.50 pm, another bomb exploded, this one strapped to a scooter.

The twin blasts at Zaveri Bazaar have caused the worst casualty compared to the explosions at Dadar and Opera House. The blast shattered windowpanes in several shops, so many people had shard injuries.

Brothers Saiful and Ahmed, who live in a building close to the spot where the first blast occurred, said: "We initially thought that an LPG cylinder had exploded in the restaurant that occupies the ground floor of our building. We rushed out and only then realised that it was a bomb blast."

Even before the police and other agencies arrived, locals had rushed to help, and many of them took the injured to the hospitals closeby. A local, who identified himself only as Mustafa, was completely soaked in blood.

“I managed to drive two injured people to GT Hospital on my bike," he said. The police, the disaster management team, the quick response team, the paramilitary force, the bomb disposal squad and the fire
brigade all reached the scene of the blast within minutes.

Vijay Shah, a shopkeeper from the area, is anxious as he had sent his 25-year-old delivery boy out in the area for some work. “I am worried as he is not responding to my phone calls. I am afraid as he stopped responding after the blasts.”

Several politicians also hurried to the area. Local BJP leader Raj Purohit said: "This is the third attack in Zaveri Bazaar. South Mumbai, and particularly Zaveri Bazaar, is the economic heart of the city. This is where
some of the highest gold and diamond trading takes place. Terrorists have found a way of destabilising the city by attacking at a place where it hurts the most: the economic hub."

Mumbai serial blasts were coordinated terror attack: P Chidambaram

Union home minister P Chidambaram said on Thursday that Wednesday's Mumbai blasts were coordinated terror attack and that all groups that are capable of carrying out such blasts are suspects.

The home minister said that the government did not have any intelligence inputs about Wednesday's blast with central and state agencies.

Ammonium nitrate with timer devices were used in the IEDs in Mumbai, Chidambaram said. It was not a remotely triggered blast and the Dadar blast was a low intensity one, he added.

He put the death toll at 18 and said that the number of injured stand at 131 including 23 who are seriously in Wednesday's blasts.

Maharashtra chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for families of blast victims.

Anger on the streets of Mumbai after serial blasts

Witnesses recal the horror of the triple blasts in Mumbai on Wednesday evening at Dadar, Zaveri Bazar and Opera House. The three most crowded business districts in the city were targeted at peak office leaving times between 6:50 pm and 7:05 pm, leaving scores dead and injured.

An eye witness Hemant said, "the sight was something so bad that unfortunately no one who saw it live will forget it."

Scenes at the hospitals were heart rending as anxious relatives flocked to various hospitals searching for their loved ones.

"I cried so much at first, but then I realised I should be handling the situation instead of crying," said a relative.

The blasts came exactly 5 years and 2 days after the 7/11 train blasts. With Mumbai being targeted time and time again, anger on the streets was clearly on the rise.

"Every second we are afraid something will happen," said a Mumbaikar.
Another Mumbaikar said, "When Indians come together and show these terror outfits are strength, then they will that India is India."

Though the emergency response system seemed to have improved this time, Mumbaikars are asking when the system will be equipped enough to prevent such terror attacks.

Mumbai blasts: Three blasts rock Mumbai, 21 killed, 141 injured

Terror has struck Mumbai once again killing at least 21 people and injuring more than hundred. Two days after the fifth anniversary of the 7/11 serial bombings, three explosions rocked the Maximum city once again.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said at least 21 people were killed and over 100 injured in the attacks.The Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed a terror plot and said that Improvised Explosive Devices had been used in the blasts. It had said at least 20 people had been killed in the attacks and 113 others injured.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had earlier said thirteen people were killed and 81 hurt in the attacks. He said the police officials had reached the spot, adding he was in constant touch with Home Minister P. Chidambaram. He appealed to the Mumbaikars to maintain calm. The home minister leaves on
Wednesday night for Mumbai.

The MHA said the leads pointed to the Indian Mujahideen's hands. Mumbai Police are questioning two IM members, who had been arrested on Tuesday. Internal Secretary, Home Ministry, UK Bansal said the attacks at dense areas were intended to cause maximum damage.

All the blasts occurred at Mumbai's crowded market places in the peak rush hour. The explosions occurred at Zaveri Bazar, Dadar and Opera House between 6:45PM and 7PM.

The first blast took place in south Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar, near the famous Mumbadevi temple. Four to five cars have been badly damaged. The second bomb went off in a taxi in Dadar's Kabutar Khana area, a stone's throw distance from Dadar railway station. The number of that taxi is MH-43 A 9384. Two people are said to be in the taxi. They have been injured in the blast. Police have also recovered a tiffin box from the area.

The third explosion occurred at the Opera House building next to Pancharatna Diamond Market. The blast took place in the Prasad Chamber of the building. According to JJ Hospital, 10 people have been brought from the Zaveri Bazar blast site. One of them has been confirmed dead, while nine others are seriously injured.

All mobile networks have been jammed in the blast areas. While Chidambaram chaired a high-level meeting in Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Chavan to stock of the situation. Chidambaram said all the injured had been evacuated. "The explosions took place within minutes of each other, hinting at the co-ordinated terror attacks," he said, appealing for calm. He said the Home Ministry will issue statements on very two hours.

Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik, on being asked if it was a terror attack, said, "I believe so."

Union Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh has spoken to the DGP of Maharashtra. An NIA team has been rushed to Mumbai for probe into the serial blasts.

Bomb investigation unit of the NSG and a forensic team of CFSL are also being sent to Mumbai. High alert has been sounded in 14 cities including Delhi, with Delhi Police spokesperson saying, "We are keeping eye on the situation in Mumbai." The quick reaction team of the Army has been put on standby.

Maharashtra PWD Minister Chhagan Bhujbal advised people to stay indoors. 

Leaders condemn Mumbai serial blasts

Leaders from all political parties have condemned the serial blasts that rocked congested areas of Mumbai Wednesday evening, killing at least 20 people and injuring over 100.

The blasts took place in three areas of south Mumbai - near Kabutarkhana in Dadar West, Zaveri Bazar and Opera House, the jewellery hubs of Mumbai - around 7 p.m.

Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan condemned the near-simultaneous explosions causing loss of life and injuries to innocent citizens.

Sankaranarayanan, who was in Delhi, rushed back to Mumbai on hearing the news.

In a statement issued here, he said: "The news of terrorists striking in the commercial capital of India in the rush hour of the evening today is shocking and shows the desperate levels the terrorists have
stooped."

"I convey my sympathies to the families of the victims of the blasts and wish speedy recovery to the injured," he added.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party assured of thorough investigation into the blasts and appealed to Mumbaikars to not pay heed to rumours and stay alert.

"Help will be extended to all victims in all possible manner. However, it is still early to tell the hand behind the blasts," he said.

Opposition leader Eknath Khadse of the Bharatiya Janata party condemned the attacks. "I sympathise with the relatives of those killed and injured," he said.

State president of Samajwadi Pary Abu Azmi said: "Police should be strict in investigating the bomb blasts that have killed many and injured more than 100 people," he said.

Azmi appealed to people not to make a communal issue out of the blasts and help each other and police in bringing the guilty to books.

"The blasts should not be associated with any specific religion or community. The police should also not catch hold of those who are not guilty for the crime," Azmi said.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said: "It is unfortunate and disgusting. I strongly condemn the blasts."
Former minister of state Gurudas Kamat also condemned the attacks and said that the guilty should be brought to book as soon as possible.